Heresie and Scisme and so undiscernibly maâ—age their Crafty Devices that the very elect choise and eminent Christians will hardly escape from being entangled with such Deceits Now then seeing that these things are certainly true it cannot but be dangerous and unsafe for the best of Christians to venture themselves into any such Congregations as have made a causeless Separation from such a Church where the the Word of God is truely taught Publick Prayer in a Form of sound Word suitable to every State and Condition of Men answerable to all their wants both for Soul and Body and all put up to God in the Name of his only Son Jesus Christ And all this Confirm'd and Establish'd by the Successive Royal Laws and Sacred Statutes Acts and Ordinances of the most Christian Kings Princes and Parliaments that ever were since the Reformation as the Church of England is in Statu quo Our Blessed Saviour hath assnred us by the words of his Sacred Lips That many will come in his Name and deceive not a few but many And the Apostle St. John saith That there are many Antichrists and exhorts them not to believe every Spirit because many false Prophets were gone forth into the World Seeing then that the number of Deceivers are many and the Deceived a Thousand times more I hold it the greatest Wisdom that can be in a Christian to take heed how he adventures into every Congregation of People least he become one of those many that Christ fiath foretold will certainly be deceived for want of this special Gift of the Holy-Ghost to discern Spirits Reason 2. A second Reason is because such Mens Principles will leave a black Brand of detestable hatred upon their very Names amongst the Generations of the People of God that shall Survive them For tho' they may prosper for a time and take their swinge for a time and run their Wildgoose chase for a time and tho' they take liberty to kindle these Fires and compas themselves about with such Sparks and tho' they walk in the Light of these Fires and Sparks of their own kindling yet this shall they have at the hand of the Lord they shall lie down in Sorrow and leave a Curse upon their Names amongst the Surviving Genâ—rations And this was verified on these very Men in my Text for when the Geneologies of the Surviving Tribes were Numbred and Recorded there lieth a Bloâ— of Disgrace upon their Names so that in plain Terms their Names stunck after they were dead The Record is to be seen in Chap. 26. of the Book of Numbers ver 7 8 9. the Words of the Record are these These are the Families of the Reubenites and they that were Numbred of them were Forty and three Thousand and seven Hundred and Thirty And the Sons of Pallu Eliab And the Sons of Eliab Nemuel and Dathan and Abiram This is that Dathan and Abiram which were Famous in the Congregaâ—tion who strove against Moses and against Aaron in that Company of Corah when they strove against the Lord. And the Earth opened her Mouth and swallowed them up together with Corah when that Company Died what time the Fire Devoured two Hundred and Fifty Men and they became a Sign Nor did their Names stink only upon Record but in the Memories and Thoughts of the Surviveing honest Hearted Israelites as appeareth by the Words of the Plea of the Daughters of Zelophehad made in open Court for Inheritance of their Fathers which Plea was also Recorded aud continueth to this Day Num. 27. ver 1 2. Ver. 1. Then came the Daughters of Zelophehad the Son of Hepher the Son of Gilead the Son of Machir the Son of Manasses the Son of Joseph And these are the Names of his Danghters Mahlah Noah and Hoglah and Milcah and Tirzah And they stood before Moses and Eliazar the Priest for Aaron was then Dead and before the Princes and all the Congregation by the Door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation saying Our Father Died in the Wilderness and he was not in the Company of them that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the Company of Corah but died in his own Sin and had no Sons 4 Why then should the Name of our Father be done away from amongst his Family because he hath no Son give unto us therefore a Possession amongst the Brethren of our Fathers 5. And Moses brought their Cause before the Lord and the Lord spake unto Moses saying 6. The Daughters of Zelophehad speak right thou shalt surely give them a Possession of an Inheritance amongst their Fathers Brethreu and thou shalt cause the Inheritance of their Father to pass unto them By the Contents of which Record it is evident that the Remembrance of these Mens Doings was Odious to Posterity more Instances we have as in Simeon and Levi Simon Magus Thudas Judas of Gallilee Nicolitans c. Reason 3. Is because the Breath of such Mens Doctrine is infectious to a sound Judgment the Sons of Men are as really snbject to Spiritual Infection as the Body is to that which is Carnal the Body is not more liable to the Infection of the Plague of Pestilence than the Judgments of the Sons and Daughters of Men are to the Plague of Spiritual Delusions And this my Assertion I ground upon Reason drawn from the Testimonies of Sacred Writ besides Woful and Daily Experience There are three Diseases amongst Men notably Infectious above others viz the Leprosie the Pestilence and the Cancer all whieh three Diseases of the Body do paralell the three grand Infectious Diseases of the Soul viz. Disobedience Heresie and Scisme The first whereof is Epidemical and hath Infected all Mankind with the Leprosie of Original Sin The second is more Secret and indiscernable falling upon sound Constitutions when they think least on 't even whilest they are Talking and Drinking with their Friend and concerning this Disease it is observable that the Party Infected hath a desire to Infect others tho' never so near and dear to them the like desire have all Scismaticks The third Infectious Disease viz. the Cancer hath its Residence for the most part in the Mouth or Tongue that they who drink of the same Cup with them are in danger of Infection For Confirmation of this Assertion I shall give you a Precedent and Precept from the Sacred Scriptures The Precedent is double and of Lamentable Memory because the Sin appeared in the Punishment of those that Committed it The Precept is alone yet worthy of a serious notice because it was Transmitted by an Epistle from an Universal Apostle to a Bishop of a particular Charge 2 Tim. 16. 17. 18. The first Precedent or Example is Recorded in Numb 12. where two prime Servants of God are found Tardy in their Obedience to him which shewed it felf in the Malignant Humour of Miriam and Aarons Murmuring against Moses who tho' their own Brother yet under God their Supream Governour nevertheless they could say
upon him for it as Aaron here did but as for Miriam she neither Confest her Sin nor shew'd any Sorrow for it but stubb rnly persisted in it For notwithstanding God Arraigned her himself and sate himself as â—udge in Moses's Cause and ask'd her why she was not affraid to speak against his Servant Moses she made no Reply by an humble Plea for Mercy but stood as a sullen Mute and so God recorded her and left her to Judgment and departs from her in great Fury Num. 12. 9. 2. The second Infectious Disease is the Pestilence which prevails mightily by Infection killing Thousands in a short time So doth the Plague of Spiritual Delusions Infect and Destroy many Thousands of Souls in a very few Days And that these Mens Principles in my Text had the same Effect it was too apparent in their Punishment and one may read their Sin in their Punishment And that there was a Spiritual Plague fore broken and running upon these Mens Spirits It is evident by the Injunction which God laid upon the rest of the People to depart from them and not to come near them nor touch any thing of theirs least their Sin should Infect them and they perish with them in their Sins And so Infectioâ—s was it to many Thousands in Israel that it brake forth upon them on the Morrow and in a Congregated Assembly Murmured against Moses and told him he had Killed the People of the Lord. How nearly doth Heresie in the Soul resemble the Pestilence in the Body for as fast as that lothsom Disease cleaves to the Body so fast doth Heresie stick in the Soul and Heart of a Man For as it is a very difficult thing and almost Impossible for a Phisttian to heal the Plague of Pestilence in the Body So it is a very hard and difficult thing for the best Majestrate or the best Minister in the World to reclaim any Man or Woman from the Error of their way that have forsaken the Publick Service of God the High-way of Salvation and betook themselves to the By-paths of a Pestilential Conventicle one Year Hence it is that the Apostle St. Paul Exhorts Titus to Reject A Man that is an Heretick after the first and second Admonition And subjoyns this Reason Knowing that he that is such is subverted and Sinneth being Condemned of himself Titus 3. 10 11. Now you may happily ask what an Heretick is I Answer A Heretick is one that obstinately Defends and Maintains an Opinion contrary to the Faith Practice and Profession of the truely Antient Catholick and Apostolick Church But ye may happily say why doth the Apostle Exhort Titus to be so quick and brief in Admonishing such an one and upon a second Contempt imediately to reject him I Answer Answer Because they have refused the way of Truth and chosen and prâ—fer'd an Erronious Opinion be ore it and obstinately reâ—use to return again This assâ—ion iâ— verified by the Testimony of the Prophet Jeremâ— Chap. 6. ver 16. Thus saith the Lord Stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old Paths where is the good way and walk therein and ye shall find Rest for your Souls This was the first Admonition the Prophet gave them aâ—ter their Revolt unto which they obstinately answered We will not walk therein The second word of Admonition is in ver 17 Also I set Watchmen over you saying Hearken to the sound of the Trumpet Unto which they made this stubbora Answer We will not Hearken Upon this their refusal after their second Admonition to return to the antient ways of God the Prophet proceeds in the name of the Lord to give Judgment upon them in ver 18. 19. Therefore hear ye Nations and know O Congrâ—gation what is among them Hear O Earth behold I wâ—ll bring Evil upon this People even the Fruit of their Thoughts because they have not hearkned unto my Words nor to my Law but rejected it Twice did those Men in my Text return a stubborn Anâ—wer to Moses that they would not return to their former Conformity but deâ—perately resolved to stick close to their former Remonstrance for when Moses sent for Dathan and Abiram the Sons of Eliab to come to him doubtless to perswade and advise with them to forbear the further Prosecution of their wicked Designs and to consider the manifold mischiefs that would unavoidably follow such wicked enterprizes as they were now begining to prosecute then they returned this resolute Answer We will not come up and aggravated it with this Expostulation Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a Land thâ—t floweth with Milk and Honey to kill us in the Wilderness except thou make thy self altogether a Prince over us ver 13. and then in ver 14. They follow their blow with a Moreover thou hast not brought us into a Land that floweth with Milk and Honey or given us Inheritance of Fields and Vineyards Wilt thou put out the Eyes of these Men We will not come up Upon this second Repulse of theirs to Moses's Admonition he utterly Rejects them and now will have no more to do with them but turns his Prayer directly against them And in the Indignation of his Spirit said unto the Lord Respect not thou their Offering And what the Effect of such a Prayer was like to be may be easily read in the Judgment that followed for the Earth opened her Mouth and swallowed them up with all that appertain'd to them and I wish with all my Heart that these Mens Principles had sunck into the Ground with them and never appear'd again upon the face of Earth but vae mihi 3. A third Infectious Disease in the Body of Man is the Cancer a sore fretting Disease very small in the beginning dangerous in growth and pernitious in the end Such is all Scismatical and false Doctrine in the beginning scarcely discern'd but by degrees it eats so far into the Soul that it destroys both Faith and Practice We have this confirm'd by the Apostle St. Paul in an Epistle of his to the chief Pastor of the Church of Ephesâ—s 2. Tim. 2. Cap. 16. 17. 18. ver But shun prophane Bablings for they will increase unto more Ungodliness And their Word will eat as doth a Canker of whom is Hymeneus and Philetus Who concerning the truth have erred saying That the Resurrection is past already and overthrow the Faith of some O Lord for thy Mercy sake save and deliver thy Church and People in the Kingdoms of England and Ireland and the Religion Established by Law therein from the fly insinuating creeping Soul-infectious Diseases of Sediton Privy Conspiracy and Rebellion false Doctrine Heresie and Scisme and work in us such a Reformation in all our Lives that our Conversations before God and Man may be such as may beautifie and adorn our most Holy Faith and demonstrate to the World that we are living Members of Christ's Body I have now finished my third
Rational Proof of the danger hazard and Jeapardy which unstable Souls incur by gladding from their Mothers House to enquire after strange Novelties and to exchange a good old Way for a deceitfull By-path and I have insisted the longer upon it out of Duty to my Mother the Church of England and the Testimony of a good Conscience towards my Brethren whose Feet yet stand fast in the High-way of Salvation to keep them steady and fast therein and out of Love aâ—d Pity to my Brethren and Friends that have made an unkind Separation from us if possible to recover them back again that they may be as formerly they have been Ornaments of Grace to our Assemblies and let them think of me what they 〈◊〉 I still retain an unfeigned Love and Respect for their Immortal and Pretious Souls â— Reason 4. Such Mens Principles do lead Souls into a state of Rebellion not only against Man but even against God himâ—elf aâ—d under pretence of taking faster hold oâ— Religion and getting nearer unto God do throw themselves into the Pit of Error and shake hands with their Allegiaâ—ce to their Lawfull Governors as these pretended Saints did for which the Lord himself gives them the Title and Epithite of â—ebell â—7 Chap. 10 ver And the Lord sâ—id unto Moses Bring Aarons Rod again before tâ—e Testimony to be kept for a token against the Rebells These were once a People conformable to the Word and Will of God walking in all the Laws and Ordinances of the Lord and thâ—n God called them his People and own'd them for his Church Testified by the word of the Lord to Moses Eâ—od 3. 7 8 9. And the Lord said I have surely seen the Affliction of my People which are in Egypt and have heard their or by reason of their Task masters for I know their Sorrows And I am come down to dâ—liver them out of the Hands of the Egyâ—tians Now therefore behold the cry of the Children of Israel is come unto me and I have seen the Oprâ—ssion werewith the Egyptians Oppress them Come now therefore and I will send thee unto Phâ—raoh that thou mayest bring forth my Peopâ—e the Children of Israel out of Egypt Hâ—re ye see he owns them for his People and calls them Children of Israel the Seed of Jacob his chosen And afterwards commends them for acknowledging his Rule and Government over them by the Hand and Word of Moses when they spake thus to him at the Foot of Mount Sinai Goye near say they and hear all that the Lord our God shall say and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall Speake unto thee and we will â—ear it and do it And the Lord heard the Voice of your words saith Moses when â—e spake unto me and the Lord said unto me I have heard the Voice of the Words of the People which they have spoken â—nto thee they have well spoken Deut. 5. 27 28. Thrice besides this time had they made the like Protestation in Exo. 19. 2. They departed from Rephidim and were come to the Desart of Sinai and encamp'd before the Mount And Moses went up unto God and the Lord called unto him out of the Mountain saying Thus shalt thou say unto the House of Jacob and tell the Children of Israel Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians and how I bare you on Eagles Wings and brought you unto my self Now therefore if ye will Obey my Voice indeed and keep my Covenant then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all People for all the Earth is mine And ye shall be unto me a Kingdom of Priests and an holy Nation These are the words which thou shall speak unto the Children of Israel And Moses came and called for the Elders of the People and laid before their Faces all these words which the Lord commanded him And all the People answered together and said All that the Lord hath spoken that will we do and Moses returned the Words of the People unto the Lord. And at another time Exod. 24. 3. Moses came and told the People all the words of the Lords and all the Judgments and all the People answered with one Voice and said All the Words which the Lord hath said will we do And again at ver 7. Moses took the Book of the Covenant and Read in the Audience of the People and they said All that the Lord hath said will we do and be Obedient Now who would ever have thought that these Men after such Solemn Vows Promises and Protestations made in the hearing of God Angels and Men would so soon after as they did utterly renounce and deny them and wipe their Mouths with a clean Handkerchief of pretended Holyness as if they had never promised any such thing at all To day they promise to obey him in all things and in a short time after in an assaulting manner tell him to his Face That he took too much upon him to lift up himself above them to exercise Authority in Commanding them or shewing them their Duty and this so unexpectedly to Moses that with astonishment and wonder he fell upon his Face and admires that such formerly so good Subjects should now turn Rebells For he only is a Rebel which was a good Subject and afterwards Revolts from his obedience O that I could say that â—hat subtil insiâ—uating Beast that old â—erpeâ—t which is called the Devil aâ—d Satan had not in our Daies put into practice and acted upon the Stage oâ— the World the like nay worse things by many Degrees if worse may be against a Faithfull Pious Prudent Prince to his Subjects as ever Moses was to the People undâ—r him all Circumstances considered I mean King Charles I. of Blessed Memory For who would have believed Or who would have thought that those English Patrio's Seir-named the Long Parliament Legally Elected to sit there for the Service of God their King and Country after they had at the beginning of their Session taken the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacie and within a while aâ—ter form'd and took a Solemn Protestation explaining the sence and meaning of them both and in such a form of dreadfull Words which I would not here incert did Inot sear from many Symptoms apâ—arent that there are yet some Men alive sick of the same Disease and are still sitting to hatch the Cockatrice Egg the Fruit whereof may if God in Mercy prevent it not prove a fiery flying Serpent The Protestaâ—ion generally ordâ—red to be taken Die Mercu. 5 May 1641. I A. B Do in the Presence of Almighty God Promise Vow and Protest to maintain and defâ—nd as far as Lawfully I may with my Life Power and Estate the true Reformed Protestant Religion expressâ—d in the Doctrine of the Church of England against all Popery and Popish Innovations within this Realm co-trary to the same and according to the Duty of my Allegiance to His Majesties Royal Person Honor and Estate as
proud but giveth Grace to the Humble James 4. 6. But the Apostle St. Peter is much larger in this point 1 Pet. 5. 5. Likewise ye Younger submit your selves unto the Elder yea all of you be subject one to another and be Clothed with Humility for God resisteth the proud and giveth Grace to the humble Both of these Apostles have their Quotation from Solomon who in the Original is larger then both Proverbs 3. 33. 34. 35. The Curse of the Lord is in the House of the Wicked But he blesseth the Habitation of the Just Surely he scorneth the Scorners but he giveth Grace unto the lowly The Wise shall inherite Glory but shame shall be the promotion of Fools Spiritual Pride tho'it be an horrible Sin yet it is very hard to be discerned The Apostle St. Paul was very near falling into this Sin and very likly he was for it as he Testifies himself 2 Cor. 12. 7. Least I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of Revelations there was given to me a Thorn in the Flesh the Messenger of Satan to buffet me The pricking Briers of Hunger Cold Nakedness Reproaches Necessities Distresses for Christ ver 9 10. O my Friends with Grief I speak it it was spiritual Pride that laid the Corner-Stone of England's late and Lamentable Miseries Acted by a Company of Pretended Saints who never left exalting themselves till they had trod upon the Crown and Dignity of the Lords Anointed and at that time with him the true Protestant Religion and all the Devout and Sincere Professors thereof and at last Murdered him at the Gates of his own Palace and trampled his Sacred Blood under their base and dirty Feet All this the Pride of their Spirit carried them forth to Enact against as sweetly qualified and as bravely an accomplished Prince as ever breathed upon the face of the of the Earth still I say Jesus Christ excepted Nor is it to be doubted but these spiritual proud Men in my Text had not God by a sudden overthrow prevented them would have served Moses and Aaron with the same Sauce having already drawn up a Charge against them as implacable Enemies to the Liberty they aimed at and Murdering so many of the People of the Lord. as they call'd themselves altho' they were Eye Witnesses that it was the immediate Hand of God that struck some of them Dead with Fire and that the Earth of her own accord opened her Mouth and swallowed up the rest O Lord for thy Mercies sake save us for the time to come from such evil proud Spirits And I beseech you my Brethren and Friends hear and receive King Solomon's advice Prov. 25. 21. My Son fear thou the Lord and the King and meddle not with them that are given to change for their Calamity shall rise suddenly For every one that is proud in Heart is an abomination to the Lord tho' hand joyn in hand he shall not go unpunished The Lord will destroy the House of the proud Prov. 16. And elsewhere he saith A Mans pride shall bring him low but honour shall uphold the humble in Spirit Prov. 29. 23. There is a Day of Account coming and it draws very near it is called The Day of the Lord of Hosts And the Prophet Isa saith That the Day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon every one that is pròud and lofty and they shall be brought low And again in Chap. 28. 1. he crieth out against this Sin in denouncing a Woe against it saying Wo to the Crown of Pride the Crown of Pride shall be troden under Foot We cannot read of proud Persons in the Scripture but we shall read of their downfall 2. They were of a self-conceited Spirit they thought none better nor Holyer then themselves for if they would have given the preference to any they would surely have given it to Moses whom the Son of God thought worthy to keep him Company fourty Days and fourty Nights at one time And afterwards on the Mount at his Transfiguration Mat. 17. And this they knew full well as the Sacred Record assures us in Exo. 24. 1. 2. 3. And he said unto Moses come up unto the Lord thou and Aaron Nadab and Abihu ánd seventy of the Elders of Israel and Worship ye afar off And Moses alone shall come near the Lord but they shall not come nigh neither shall the People go up with him And Moses came and told the People all the Words of the Lord and all the Judgments and all the People answered with one Voice and said All the Words which the Lord hath said will we do It doth not appear that at this time there was one Dissenter or Nonconformist amongst them And yet within a little time after afew seditious Israelites whereof Corah was chief had so seduced the Church of God in Israel that if God had not appeared himself with a mighty Hand and stretched out Arm of Heavenly Power they would not only have denyed Moses the Supremacy over them but have brought his Neck to the Block or otherwise have ended his Days by some violent Death for they often spake of Stoning him Thus you see that for all their pretended Holyness they shut their Eyes and will not see nor open their Ears to Hearken to God nor the Rulers of his Church For Instance take the Word of God Num. 12. 5. And the Lord came down in the Pillar of the Cloud and stood in the Door of the Tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam and they both came forth And he said Hear now my Words if there be a Prophet among you I the Lord will make my self known unto him in a Vision and will speak unto hìm in a Dream My Servant Moses is not so who ìs Faithful in all my House With him wîll I speak Mouth to Mouth even apparently and not in dark Speeches and the Similitude of the Lord shall he behold wherefore then were yé not afraid to speak against my Servant Moses And thé Anger of the Lord was kindled against them and he departed There are seven things to be enquired into from this Proof 1. Which of the three Persons in the God-Head it was that came down from Heaven in the Pillat of the Cloud the Son of God it was no doubt 2. What his business was that he came about viz. to Examin two Criminals to Arraign and Judge them 3. What their Crime was viz. Speaking against Moses 4. Aarons Penitency and the benefit of his Clergy 5. Miriams Impenitency and Punishment 6. Moses's Pitty and Prayer for her which voided the perpetuity of the Sentence 7. The fairness of the Tryal he stood in the Door of the Tabernacle that all Israel might hear and see and take warning God might have spoken so loud that Heaven and Earth should have heard it so as they should not have need to come forth for Audience but now he calls them out to the Bar that they may be seen it did
that are in the Earth Now when the Spirit of Sedition shall possess the Minds of Men and prompt them not only to dislike but speak Evil of such Dignities and those that enioy them and to assemble in Companies to Assault their Governours as these Men in my Text did Moses and Aaron whom they knew God had set over them and frequently acknowledged it No wonder the Psalmist in Psal 119. 126. said It was time for God to work when Men went about to undermine the Laws of God to make them void The Translation of our Church Psalms reads it thus It is time for the Lord to lay to thy Hand for they have destroyed thy Law When these Men in my Text had gathered the Congregation together against Moses and Aaron what to do Why to cut them off and Subvert the Government both of Church and State It was high time for God to appear in flaming Fire to take Vengeance upon them and pluck of the Crown of spiritual Pride from their haughty Heads Which he did as you have heard and so rejected their Confidences and blasted their intended Proceedings 4. They were of an envious Spirit they envied the State and Dignity which God had conferred upon Moses and Aaron in Constituting them their Governours in the Church This ill Quality Cooperated with the rest to provoke them to a Commotion and civil Discord amongst themselves And that the old Serpent had shed the Spawn of Envy into their Spirits the Kingly Propet affirms it with a sad Memento 106. 16. 17 18. They envied Moses in the Camp and Aaron the Saint of the Lord. The Earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the Congregation of Abiram And a Fire was kindled in their Company the Flame burnt up the ungodly By the last words in ver 17. viz. The Congregation of Abiram It is very probable that Abiram had a gathered Church which some of our Modern Dissenters call the Congregational or Independent way of gathering Churches And if so as it is very likly then he was the first that ever I read of who gathered a false Church out of a true one And so by the Text it is clear that whilst Corah and his Confederates were affronting Moses and Aaron in publick Dathan and Abiram were at a private Meeting in their Tents Praying for their good Success or waiting for a Watch word from them when they should rush forth with Weapons to Assault their Rulers For when Moses gave a charge to the rest of the People to come away from their Tents they came forth and stood in their Tent-doores with their Wives and Children with brazen faced Impudency as if they would outface God and all just Authority I did not know till after more than Forty times reading this Antient Record of Holy Writ and an exact Inspection into the Design of the Seditious Party with a deligent Observation of their prerended Holiness grounded upon false Principles Their gathering the Common People like Herds of Goats in a Tumultuous manner against their Rulers their crying them down to get into their places I say till I had diligently consulted the Record of this lamentable History I did not know that Presbiterâ— and Independency were of so long a standing in the World For Chorah an inferior Levite contends with Aaron to level the Office of an High-Priest to that of a Levite and flatly tells him that he takes too much upon him to lift up himself above them being all of one Tribe he sawnoreason there should be any difference in Dignity and therefore he resolves to Conform no longer but set up for himself and have Elders under him of his own choosing And as for Dathan and Abiram they defiâ— all Superintendency for it were they as well as Corah that told Moses and Aaron That they took too much upon them to lift up themselves above them They were able of themselves to give Laws and Orders to their Congregated Proselites without their Lordly â—urisdiction and in this State of Independency they died Impenitently How fitly may we apply the Words of Solomon to the Former and Latter Troubles of the Church Eccle. 1. 9 10. The thing that hath been is that which shall be and that which is done is that which shall bedone and there is no new thing under the Sun Is there any thing whereof it may be said see this is new It hath been of old time before us And whence is it but from the Envy and Malice of the old Serpenr who is called the Devil and Satan Who as our Saviour saith John 8. 44. Was a Murderer from the beginning and abode not in the Truth And so became an Enemy to all Government above himself which Practice he continues still in the World by seducing the Sons of Men into his old Principles of Disobedience 'T is true indeed this old Serpent doth often renew his Shape but never alters his ill Qualities he often changeth his Habit but not his Disposition alters his name but not his Nature shifts places but retains still his old Principles I will conclude this Branch with the Sacred Caution of the Apostle St. Peter 1. Eph. 3. 17 18. Therefore Beloved seeing ye know these things before beware least ye being lead away with the Error of the Wicked fall from your own Stedfastness But grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to whom be Glory both now and for ever Amen 5. They were of a sullen selfwill'd Spirit nothing would please them but what proceeded from their own Wills They answeared Moses as some of their Successors did the Prophet Jeremy Chap. 19. 11. Return ye from the Evil of your ways They said Ver. 19 There is no hope but we will walk after our own devices and we will every one do the Imagination of his evil Heart Yea when they were in Captivity in Babilon they would not be Reclaimed from their own Wills but they made him this desperate Answer As for the Word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord we will not hearken to thee but we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth out of our own Mouth Jer. 44. 14. Spiritual Wickedness doth not only blind but bind the Spirits of unstable Men with strong Cords of selfwill'dness It is a hard thing to recover any one out of any Error that hath laid the Reins of his own will into the neck of his own Judgment Sic volo sic Jubeo stat proratione voluntas His own Will is the Rule he resolves to walk by and to any other Persuasion he is like the deaf Adder that stops her Ear at the Voice of the Charmer charm he never so wisely One of the sorest Plagues that God can inflict on any Man is to leave him to his own Will and the Councils of his own Heart which must needs destroy him Some do think that Liberty of Conscience is the only way to propogate the
what may we then learn from this sacred Oracle of God's Revealed Will Why I humbly conceive they teach us these Three things 1. That Uniformity of Prayer in the Publick Worship of God is the best way and manner of waiting upon God 2. That such Publick Worship of God comes nearest to the Heavenly of any other upon Earth and therefore most suitable to his Nature and most agreeable to his Mind and Will 3. That such Uniformity is the absolute Determination of his Divine Will and shall be the standing Rule and Practice of his Church and People in the midst of all their Enemies Those People then that reject despise vilify and reproach with opprobrious words and scurrilous Language such a Form of Prayer and such a Method of Serving God which is Beautified and Adorned and Seasoned with the Salt of God's Holy Word are one sort of Anti-Scripturians But tho' there be too many that do so yet it is never the worse for their dirty Language no more than the Heavenly Manna was because some seditious Israelites gave it the scurrilous name of Light Bread The Holy and Heavenly Angels continued feeding on that Food which proud and haughty Men trampled under their Feet and gave it no better Commendation that Light and Lothsom Bread I do not therefore much admire at the contempt which some have taken up against the Prayers of our Church when Israel God's chosen People and the Seed of Abraham grew weary of Heavenly Manna the Food of Angels But what shall we say to these things For since the chief of the fallen Angels in the shape of a Serpent Poisoned our Nature with the Venome of his own Sin no Age hath been free from some Appearances of it among the Sons of Men nor ever will be till Satan be confined to the Bottomless Pit I am sure in the time of the Prophet Ezekiel the Church was pestered with such sort of Cattle as he calls them Chap. 34. 18 19 20. Seemeth a it small thing unto you to have eaten up the good Pasture but ye must tread down with your Feet the residue of your Pastures And to have drunk of the deep Waters but ye must foul the residue with your Feet As for my Flock they eat that which ye have trodden with your Feet and they drink that which ye have fouâ—ed with your Feet Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them Behold I even I will Judge between the Fat Cattel and between the Lean Cattel Because ye have thrust with Side and with Shoulder and pusht all the Diseased with your Horns till ye have scattered them abroad Therefore will I save my Flock and they shall no more be a Pray and I will Judge between Cattel and Cattel Hence it is Evident the Lord will one Day Judge between the Holy Martyrs that Composed the Prayers of our Church for us and afterwards Sealed it with their Blood in Flames of Fire Whither they did well in so doing or whither they do wickedly who think their Tongues their own to vilify and scornfully reproach it at their own Pleasure and with out all controul for who is Lord over them Come my Brethen be not angry with me nor account me an Enemy because I tell you the truth and I will ask you a few Questions I. What good thing there is that any of you ask in your Extempore Prayers that we do not ask in a well-set Form of sound Words II. Whither there be any one Petition in the Daily Prayers of our Church that doth contradict the least Branch of God's Revealed Will that savours of Impiety or that can be truly said to hinder the work of Grace in the Heart of any Sinner III. Whither there be any thing wanting that may make a miserable Man happy even in this Life if he can obtain the things he Prays for IV. Whither the things we pray for therein if granted be not of force to make the worst of Sinners to become one of the better sort of Saints upon Earth V. Whither there be any thing that is requisite or necessary for Soul or Body to make our Lives comfortable here and our Souls eternally Happy hereafter that is omitted or left out in the Prayers of our Church VI. Whither the matter contained in the Book of Common Prayer be not a constant acknowledgment and Vindication of the Faith which was once delivered to the Saints And whither we are not Exhorted earnestly to contend for it VII Whither there be any thing that may savingly inform the Judgments of Men in mattrrs of Faith or enlighten the Understanding in the Mystery of Mans Salvation or that may encourage Sinners to turn from Darkness to Light and from the power of Satan unto God which are not to be found in the Doctrin and Discipline of the Church of England And now I beseech you my Friends ask your selves this one Question Whither it savours of Wisdom in any that profess the Name of Christ or own themselves to be his Servants to question the truth of his Word Who as a Prophet hath foretold the desolation of Kingdoms to proceed from their Divisions Hath not Moses that Man of God told Israel of old that God would raise them up a Prophet like to himself and that God the Father would put words into his Mouth and that whosoever would not give heed thereto God would require it of him And doth not the Apostle St. Peter tell us Acts 3. That Christ was that Prophet and that whosoever would not hear him should be destroyed from amongst the People And hath not Christ by vertue of his Prophetical Office told us That a Kingdom divided cannot stand but is brought to desolation O let us not Tempt Christ by our divisions to try whether he will or can save us from Desolation contradictory to his own word I think therefore and I do Appeal to the Conscience of any unbiassed Man that professeth the Christian Faith whither it be not better for you to return to the High-Way of Salvation again then by your Divisions to continue rambling from one by-path to another till ye know not which way to take and leave the Breach open for our Enemies to break in upon us and lay our Land Desolate Do ye not hear what the Son of God said Mat. 24. 15. When ye therefore shall 〈◊〉 the Abomination of Desolation stand in the Holy Place Standing where it ought not so St. Mark reads it And hath he not told us elsewhere that The Divisions of a Kingdom will bring it to Desolation Shall we then call our selves Believers and give no credit to his Word in so weighty a concern as the Preservation of a Kingdom from Ruin and Destruction May we not safely conclude from the Words of our Saviour that Divisions and Dissentions amongst Profest Christians is an Abomination unto the Lord And that Scism is a provoking Sin Did not Christ weep for the Divisions of Jerusalem And shall we
commands a Blessing even Life for evermore To conclude this Postscript I do once again pray and beseech you for the Lord Jesus's sake who is verily and indeed the true Prince of Peace and the Covenant that he sealed with his precious Blood for the present Comfort and Eternal Happiness of the Sons and Daughters of Men is a Covenant of Peace that ye will return to the high way of Salvation again and be as heretofore good Examples to those that have not yet attain'd to those large Meásures of Knowledge and Practice as you had before ye left us you have given us a grievous wound by leaving us and ye may give us an healing Plaister by your return to us again What a joyful sight would it be to the choicest Members of our Church to see you take your own Places and possesses your own Seats again Do ye not yet know that Satan's Master-piece of Malice whereby he endeavours to work Mischief to the Church of God is to sow the Tare-seed of Divisions amongst them For if he can but start a question from the unstable Heart of any one of them that may beget a doubtful Disputation amongst them he hath his ends and tho' it may seem to increase Knowledge yet if it will but make the least rent he hath as much as he looks for he knows that there will be some Standers-by that will blow at the Coal Nothing can harm the Church of Christ but the Divisions of her own Children to avoid which a true Believer will deny himself and be silent in many things of Circumstance rather than he will maintain a dispute that may in the least be prejudicial to the Church's Peace Abraham had cause enough to have held a dispute with Lot when their Herdsmen fell out about what I know not and doubtless might have had the better of it but he will not he had rather be silent and so quench the Coals of Strife than to encrease the Flame by contention he wisely foresaw the Mischief that was likely to follow the Strife and Contention that was begun betwixt them so that he presently endeavours to put out the Fire before it was too much kindled by refusing to contend at all Let there be no Strife I pray thee saith he to Lot betwixt me and thee and betwixt my Herdsmen and thy Herdsmen for we be Brethren All true Believers are the Children of faithful Abraham and therefore I could wish with all my Heart that these Words were written in Characters of Gold upon the fleshly Tables of the Hearts of all the Servants of Christ whom the Doctrin of the Gospel hath united by Articles of a true Faith how sweet would Peace and how bitter would Divisions be to them It is a remarkable thing and worth our notice that all the Miseries that the subtle Serpent hath brought upon all Mankind had its Rise and Beginning from a doubtful Disputation betwixt himself and our first Parents and thus he began with a soft smooth oily Language yea hath God said Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden And the Woman said unto the Serpent we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye touch it lest ye die And the serpent said unto the woman ye shall not surely die For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil as if the Serpent had said you talk of dying if ye eat why surely ye shall not die God hath kept that Secret from you which I will reveal to you I am an Angel of Light I came down from Heaven and therefore must needs know the Mind and Will of God better than you do Ye say that if ye eat of the Tree in the midst of the Garden you shall die but I tell you that God knows that in the very day ye eat thereof your Eyes shall be opened your Understanding's enlightned your Knowledge increased and ye shall be as Gods perfectly knowing Good and Evil. Will ye then be limited by a Law when ye may have perfect Freedom Will ye be tied to the Observation of an Ordinance when ye may live above all Ordinances will ye be such Enemies to your own Good Will ye stand so much in your own Light Will ye continue blind when ye may have your Eyes open'd 'T is but stepping a little beyond the bounds of your usual walk and ye shall enjoy such unspeakable Priviledges which God never yet discover'd to you In this doubtful Disputation did the Dragon that old Serpent which is call'd the Devil and Satan lay the foundation of the mystery of Iniquity which we may plainly perceive was not wrought by a temptation to Carnal Infirmities but by a crafty Delusion to Spiritual Wickedness and if you will but consult the sacred Scriptures as Christ hath commanded Joh. 5. 39. and take diligent notice of the things ye read ye will easily perceive that Spiritual Wickedness hath had the greatest share in those Sins that have provoked the Lord to pour forth the Vials of his Wrath upon his Church and People in all Ages of the World And being assured by so sacred a Testimony as the Word of God is that the Divisions of a Kingdom do portend its Desolation let us follow those things that make for Peace and let us take the advice which the Apostle St. Paul gives us Ephes 4. 30 31 32. Grieve not the holy spirit of God whereby ye are sealed to the day of redemption Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice And be kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you And now once more I pray and beseech you that if ye have any bowels of Pity or Compassion upon your native Country if ye do not desire to see the Kingdom wherein ye were born to be made an Akeldama or Field of Blood If ye do not desire to see your Relations and Neighbours wallow in their Blood and sheathing their Swords in each others Breasts that ye will return in time from the causes of it Do ye think it will be a pleasant sight to see a Company of Bloody Soldiers â—orcibly entriâ—g your Houses with drawn Swords in their Hands with Fire in their Eyes Death in their Looks their Mouths full of cursed Oaths and devillish Execrations will the noise and lamentable screeches and outcries of your Wives and Children be pleasing to you when ye shall see them kickt and beaten like Dogs in your presence and otherwise barbarously us'd before your Eyes your Houses plunder'd and spoil'd of their best Furniture your Chambers and Chests broken up and emptied of your choicest Treasures Can it be any pleasure
using Set and Prescribed Forms there is no doubt but that wholsome words being known and fitted to Men's Vnderstandâ—ngs are soonest received into their Hearts and aptest to excite and carry along with them judicious and fervent Affections Nor do I see any reason why Christians should be weary of a well-composed Liturgy as I hold this to be more then of all other things wherein the Constancy abates nothing of the Excellency and Usefulness I could never see any reason why any Christian should abhor or be forbidden to use the same Forms of Prayer since he prays to the same God believes in the same Saviour professeth the same Truths reads the same Scriptures hath the same Duties upon him and feels the same daily wants for the most part both inward and outward which are common to the whole Church Sure we may as well before-hand know what we pray as to whom we pray and in what words as to what sense when we desire the same things what hinders we may not use the same words Our Appetite and Digestion too may be good when we use as when we pray for our daily Bread Some Men I hear are so impatient not to use in all their dâ—votions their own Invention and Gifts that they not only disuse as too many but wholly cast away and contemn the Lord's Prayer whose great guilt is that it is the warrant and original pattern of all set Liturgies in the Christian Church I ever thought that the proud Ostentation of Men's Abilities for Invention and the vain affectations of variety for Expressions or in Publick Prayer or in any sacred Administrations merits a greater brand of Sin than that which they call Coldness and Barrenness nor are Men in those novelties less subject to formal and superficial tempers as to their hearts than in the constant Forms where not the words but Men's Hearts are to blame I make no doubt but a Man may be very formal in the most extemporary variety and very fervently devout in the most wonted Expressions Nor is God more a God of Variety than of Constancy Nor are constant Forms of Prayers more likely to flat and hinder the Spirit of Prayer and Devotion than un-premeditated and confused variety to distract and lose it Wherein Men must be strangely impudent and flatterers of themselves not to have an infinite shame of what they so do and say in things of so sacred a nature before God and the Church after so ridiculous and indeed profane a manner Nor can it be expected but that in duties of frequent performance as Sacramental Administrations and the like which are still the same Ministers must either come to use their own Forms constantly which are not like to be so sound or comprehensive of the nature of the duty as Forms of Publick Composure or else they must every time affect new Expressions when the Subject is the same which can hardly be presumed in any Man's greatest Suffitiencies not to want many times much of that compleatness oâ—der and gravity becoming those duties which by this means are exposed at every Celebration to every Minister's private Infirmities Indispositions Errors Disorders and Defects both for Judgment and Expression A serious sense of which inconvenience in the Church unavoidably following every Man 's several manner of officiating no doubt first occasioned the Wisdom and Piety of the antient Churches to remedy thâ—se mischiefs by the use of constant Liturgies of Publick Composure The want of which I believe this Church will sufficiently feel when the unhappy Fruits of many Men's ungoverned Ignorance and confident defects shall be discovered in more Errors Schism Disorders and uncharitable Distractions in Religion which are already but too many the more is the pity However if violence must needs bring in and abett those Innovations that Men may not seem to have nothing to do which Law Reason and Religion forbids at least to be so obtruded as wholly to justle out the Publick Liturgy Yet nothing can excuse that most unjust and partial severity of those Men who either lately had subscribed to used and maintained the Service-Book or refused to â—se it cryed out of the rigour of Laws and Bishops which suffered them not to use the Liberty of their Conscience in not using it That these Men I say should so suddenly change the Liturgy into a Directory as if the Spirit needed help for invention tho' not for Expressions or as if matter prescribed did not as much stint and obstruct the Spirit as if it were cloathed in and confined to fit words So slight and easie is that Legerdemain which will serve to delude the Vulgar That further they should use such severity as not to suffer without Penalty any to use the Common-Prayer-Book publickly altho` their Consciences bind them to it as a duty of Piety to God and Obedience to the Laws Thus I see no Men are prone to be greater Tyrants and more rigorous exacters upon others to conform to their illegal novelties than such whose pride was formerly least disposed to the obedience of lawful Constitutions and whose licentious humours most pretended Conscientious Liberties which freedom with much regret they now allow to Me and My Chaplains when they may have leave to serve Me whose Abilities even in their extemporary way comes not short of the others but their modesty and learning far exceeds the most of them But this matter is of so popular a nature as some Men knew it would not bear learned and sober Debates lest being convinced by the evidence of Reason as well as by Laws they should have been driven either to sin more against their knowledge by taking away the Lìturgy or to displease some Faction of the People by continuing the use of it Though I believe they have offended more considerable Men not only for their numbers and Estates but for their weighty and judicious piety than those are whose weakness or giddiness they sought to gratifie by taking it away One of the greatest faults some Men found with the Common-Prayer-Book I believe was this That it taught them to pray so oft for Me to which Petitions they had not Loyalty enough to say Amen nor yet Charity enough to forbear Reproaches and even Cursings of Me in their own Forms instead of praying for Me. I wish their Repentance may be their only punishment that seeing the mischiefs which the difuse of Publick Liturgies hath already produced they may restore that Credit Use and Reverence to them which by the antient Châ—rches were given to Set Forms of sound and wholsom words The Memory of the Just is Blessed Who when a King on Earth no King beside That liv'd more just That more unjustly dy'd FINIS
to you to see so populous so famous and so antient a City as Bristoll is on a light Flame Your Hands bound with Cords and your selves hall'd along the Streets like Fellons and delivered into the Custody of cruel and hard-hearted Men with infinite more mischievous and unknown Miseries that attend Wars whither civil among our selves or Foreign by Invasion of Strangers Are there none of you left alive in this City that can testifie what the unspeakable Miseries were which this distracted Kingdom endured in the time of that Scism that so grievously wounded and disturbed the Peace of the Church in the Reign of that pious Prince King Charles the I. if there are as doubtless there are many ask them and they will tell you what horrible Confusions there were both in Church and State and the Government of both utterly subverted till God in Mercy restor'd them to us again and will continue so till the same Spirit of Faction and Scism do for our Sins give us another overturn Oh England England once the Mistress of Islands if a true list and number of those thy Natives which most cruelly slew one another in thy late civil Wars should be brought to thy view And if all the Christian Blood then shed to satisfie the Factious Humours of some Men had been exhall'd by airy Vapours and now shour'd down upon thy fertile Fields and populous flourishing Towns and Cities thou wouldst see strange and prodigious Sights If those deep Sighs and Groans which thousands of excellent and vertuous Ladies and Gentlewomen utter'd from their afflicted Souls and standing with Petitions in their Hands at the doors of a company of Thieves that called themselves Committees praying from day to day from week to week and from month tomonth to buy their own Estates their lovely Cheeks bedew'd with a flux of brinish Tears from their tender Eyes If such things as these can be pleasing to any sort of profest Christians surely they are void of a right Understanding they are led not by Reason but by a Spirit of Madness which hath very little fence in what it acts Consider these things my Brethren in time lest ye repent it when it is too late And now lastly I pray you seriously to consider that there are no greater Enemies to the service of God in our Church Assemblies than the Apostate Church of Rome consisting of Monks Fryers Jesuits and Mass-Priests Can ye then do them a greater pleasure than to joyn with them in Hatred and Contempt of it Did they not burn both the Book it self and the choicest Persons of those that composed it and will ye throw their Ashes into the River they tied them to Stakes and will ye shoot at their Hearts with bitter words Next unto the sacred Scriptures I am bold to say that our Common-Prayer Book is the surest visible Bulwark to keep out Popery from ever being established by Law in this Kingdom any more for ever and will ye persevere in throwing dovvn such a Fortification and so let in again the Antichristian Beast of Rome to ruin and destroy us and to make us and your selves an everlasting Reproach and a perpetual shame O do not rob those Martyrs of that Honour vvhich they purchased at so dear a rate for the Benefit and Good of their surviving Brethren and Friends that then vvere or thereafter should be made Members of the Body of Christ O do not disgrace their Labours by blotting and staining them vvith scurilous Language and thereby expose the Protestant Faith to the Scorn and laughter of a cruel Adversary for over your Shoulders do the Blood-thirsty Papists shoot at our Hearts O that ye vvere vvise that ye vvould consider these things and return to the high way of Salvation again What joy would there be in our Churches What loving Embraces What mutual Society What Gladness of Heart What inward Comfort and Consolation to our Immortal Souls What reviving of Spirits How sweet would such Unity Peace and Concord be to the whole Kingdom How mediately-secure should we be not only from all fears of a Foreign Invasion but from all doubts of a Civil War amongst our selves Then should we offer our daily Sacrifices of Praise and Thanksgiving and call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one Shoulder and one Consent Thus have I discharg'd my duty to all that profess the name of Christ in this Kingdom wherein I was born What the effect of it may be God knows for I do not I leave the issue of it to the only wise Saviour of the World in whom are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge whose poor weak and unworthy Servant I am and hope to persevere therein Dum Spiritus hos Regit ortus And lest any Reader should here and there meet with a word or two in this Postscript which he may happily think hath a tang of Acerbity I have thorowly season'd and sweetned it with the judgment of a Martyr'd Monarch a Stedfast and Faithful Defender of the truly antient Catholique and Apostolick Faith Upon the Ordinance against the Common-Prayer-Book IT is no News to have all Innovations usher`d in with the name of Reformations in Church and State by those who seeking to gain Reputation with the Vulgar for their extraordinary Parts and Piety must needs undo whatever was formerly settled never so well and wisely So hard can the pride of those that study Novelties allow former times any share or degree of Wisdom or Godliness And because matter of Prayer and Devotion to God justly bears a great part in Religion being the Souls more immediate converse with the Divine Majesty nothing could be more plausible to the People then to tell them They served God amiss in that Point Hence our public Liturgy or Forms of constant Prayers must be not amended in what upon free and publick advice might seem to sober Men inconvenient for matter or manner to which I should easily consent but wholly cashiered and abolished and after many popular Contempts offered to the Book and those that used it according to their Consciences and the Laws in force it must be crucified by an Ordinance the better to please either those Men who gloried in their extemporary Vein and Fluency or others who conscious to their own formality in the use of it thought they fully expiated their Sin of not using it aright by laying all the blame upon it and a total rejection of it as a dead letter thereby to excuse the deadness of their Hearts As for the Matter contained in the Book sober and learned Men have sufficiently vindicated it against the Cavils and Exceptions of those who thought it a part of Piety to make what prophane objections they could against it especially for Popery and Superstition whereas no doubt the Liturgy was exactly conformed to the Doctrin of the Church of England and this by all Reformed Churches is confessed to be most sound and Orthodox For the matter of